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Can You Own the Content That's on Your Tumblr Blog Page?

By Aaron Parson

Click the arrow by "Publish" and pick "Private" to hide a post.

Social media, content hosting and blogging websites use a variety of legal techniques that allow them to publicly display your content. Tumblr does not directly claim ownership over the material you post on your blog, meaning you can freely use it again elsewhere. Though you retain ownership, Tumblr does have the right to reuse or modify content you post without further permission.

Content Ownership

Posting your own creations to Tumblr -- such as your own writing, photos or music -- does not forfeit your intellectual property rights. Anything you owned prior to posting you will still own afterwards. This also applies to customizations made to your blog's theme and any other behind-the-scenes coding.

Content License

Posting material on your Tumblr blog grants Tumblr a non-exclusive license to use your material without paying royalties. Tumblr needs this permission in order to host your posts on its servers and allow other users to see and reblog them. If you'd rather not have a particular post potentially reblogged or modified by other users, you should mark it as private.

References

About the Author

Aaron Parson has been writing about electronics, software and games since 2006, contributing to several technology websites and working with NewsHour Productions. Parson holds a Bachelor of Arts from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash.